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DESPITE fierce debate surrounding its visit, which further strained relations between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, the USS Gravely, an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyer of the US Navy, departed Port of Spain on October 30.

The vessel, named after Vice Admiral Samuel L Gravely Jr, was commissioned in 2010 and has since undertaken several overseas deployments. Gravely is the 57th destroyer in her class. She left the Port of Spain dock around 10 am, to little fanfare.

Her docking sparked not only regional, but also international discourse, as several international media houses reported her arrival. The Gravely's visit prompted a response from Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.